“These figures unfortunately confirm fears that hundreds of people in England died during hot weather in England earlier this year. There was a spike in deaths during the heatwave conditions on 25 and 26 June, but there were also more deaths on 18 and 19 April during unseasonably warm spring temperatures.”

“It is likely that many of the people who died during the hot weather suffered from underlying illnesses, such as respiratory disease. Nonetheless, many of these deaths may have been prevented if buildings were better adapted to prevent overheating. The Government has been warned by experts for a number of years that the awareness of the public needed to be raised about the increasing risks of heatwaves due to climate change. This summer was the warmest on record in England, and analysis by the Met Office shows that the incidence of heatwave conditions is rising.”

For more information about this media release, please contact Bob Ward on +44 (0) 7811 320346.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (http://www.cccep.ac.uk/) is hosted by the University of Leeds and the London School of Economics and Political Science. It is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (http://www.esrc.ac.uk/). The Centre’s mission is to advance public and private action on climate change through rigorous, innovative research.